New Tomorrow/Part 3
This is Part 3 of New Tomorrow, entitled Streets. It was released in September 20, 2014. Part 3 - Streets For a moment there, they could feel peace. For a moment, they could feel clarity. Liam couldn’t dare let Elaine go in his arms. Not even a little bit. For a moment it felt right… the kind of right he’s always wanted to feel for years. He could feel the warmth of her breath on his chest, her silky smooth hair brushing against his shoulders… the light wetness on the cloth of his shirt, the muffled sniffling… Like instinct, reality snaps back to Liam. His embrace tightens, his eyes scan the horizon. Shuffling dead, from a distance… far, but not comfortably far enough. Elaine wasn’t going to make a recovery right this minute. Not in this state. She was a mess. Her exhaustion was displayed in her tear-ridden eyes, her messy hair, her paleness. The blush on her cheeks and nose, from her crying, her affection, he didn’t know—it could barely counteract the reality of her state. And yet… he could feel less weight in his heart when he sees her. Looks at her, eye to eye. Liam gives her a reassuring smirk. He’s hoping, from this point on, things will be easier. He finally lets go of his embrace and looks to his left side, toward the direction of their refuge. The duplex. He keeps a tight arm around her shoulder, as if he was carrying her. She was weightless, from a moment of revelation it seemed. That, or she was just tired. They both walk back to the duplex, slowly, savoring this fading moment. Liam knows this won’t last. Elaine’s momentary bloom decays as they get closer to their refuge. Her bright expression falters, lets the gloominess consume it. Her thoughts, the reality of it all, takes over yet again. And yet Liam’s still there, cradling her carefully, making sure she won’t fall back into it. The void of her memories. The two right away feel at home as soon as they enter the duplex. They both look at each other, then the furniture, wondering how or why it felt so… hospitable than before. As if they owned it. Liam lets Elaine go while he slowly sets his items aside, on top of the counter right next to him. Elaine scans the faded-green sofa she slept in earlier, pauses for a second, and takes a seat at it. She looks down on her lap for a few seconds, then looks up at Liam slowly. She was sending a message… some kind of message through her eyes. Liam moseys toward the set of comforters, choosing to sit right next to Elaine. Elaine refuses to look at him, instead pulling his arm and wrapping it around her. Liam was cautious no longer. He felt comfortable, for once. He didn’t feel Elaine pull away anymore. Not with her thoughts. Her coldness. She felt warm. “I could still see them,” Elaine utters. There was no hesitation in her tone, her volume. “In my dreams.” She finally looks at Liam, who looks at her back; his concern has finally crept up judging from his blank expression. Elaine decides to rest her head on his chest. “I didn’t see anything. But the sounds were still loud.” It was what kept Elaine up at night. What made her so fragile. Elaine refused to cry, but tears escaped her eyes nonetheless. “It was too sudden. Too quick.” What Liam had feared was returning to him. He straightens up from his seat, unwrapping his arm around Elaine and setting it on his lap. Elaine, too, had leant forward from her seat, brushing away any tears that would have dripped from her cheeks. What was he going to do? What else could he do? “It wasn’t your fault.” Liam, like impulse, grabs Elaine’s left hand with his right. He intertwines his fingers with hers. He opens his mouth to continue, but… he lacked the words. Instead, he keeps his firm grip and looks at her, with reassurance. He wanted to let her know that she wasn’t alone in this. Not anymore. He leans closer to her faces, gives her a peck on her forehead, pulls her in closer for a hug. “Tammy was—was so happy when she saw you, you know that?” Liam freezes up, pulls away from his embrace, looks at Elaine. That name… he hadn’t heard that name for so long—longer than he thought. That… little girl, who always looked up to him in his every visit. Even when his relationship with Elaine was uneasy. Liam’s nostrils flare. His eyes suddenly water. “T-Tammy… heh…” he mutters, his voice hoarse. “I—I wrapped her in her favorite blanket. M-made sure she slept with it.” Liam’s grip softens. He pulls his hands away, trying to combat these feelings creeping up on him. He thought he’d have moved on, since they left that place behind, buried everyone. “That was… that was her favori—” Liam and Elaine’s somber moment is interrupted by a suspiciously loud sound coming from the other side of their front door. The sound of… a door opening, footsteps thumping heavily enough to break this very silence. Liam freezes up, but only for a few seconds. He looks at Elaine with a wary look, wipes the tears away from his eyes. He stands up and quietly trots over to the counter near the front door, where he had unconsciously put aside his machete. Liam slowly creeps up to the door, pressing his right ear against it while his left hand reaches for the weapon. The sound was quiet, but the noise was unceasing. He judged if it was a biter, or person—a biter would have been making way more noise than this. A loud three knocks sways Liam away from the door. His heart beat a hundred beats per millisecond. “He-hello?” A person. “Hello… I know there’s people in there…” A female voice. Liam couldn’t discern it from how neutral it sounded. Liam glances behind him, sees Elaine staring past him for a few seconds, until she decides to hide right behind the sofa. He positions himself to the right side of the door, unsheathing his machete. He faces Elaine to the front, grabs the knob with one hand. He slowly turns it, so as to sound the door opening for the stranger on the other side. He hides carefully to the side of the door, letting it swing open for the stranger to enter. The door’s creaking gives him the signal of its opening. “H-hello…?” The stranger, at first, doesn’t step right in. Liam maintains a hesitant, yet firm grip on his machete. “A-anyone in here…? Door wouldn’t open by itself…” The stranger takes two hastened steps forward, revealing herself to Liam and giving him the chance. He fiercely wraps his right arm around her neck and tightens it enough for her to start struggling. “Who the hell are you?!” Liam exclaims, already adding to the stress he’s causing to both himself and the stranger. “W-wait—” The stranger struggles for only another second until she starts surrendering by lightening her grip on Liam’s arm. “I—I don’t me-mean any ha—” She tries to keep her voice composed but fails in it. “How do we know you’re not here to rob us? Huh?!” Liam has gained the upper-hand and maintains a steady choke hold on the stranger, pointing the machete at her for added effect. “N-no—please—I don’t—” Elaine emerges from behind the sofa, her expression turning into concern. “Liam…” She catches both the girl’s and Liam’s attention. “Liam—you’re hurting her!” She could see it in her eyes. There was no harm intended here. Liam hesitates letting her go for a few more seconds, realizing Elaine’s look and lightening his hold by the second. He wanted to refuse and yet—he couldn’t help but believe Elaine’s right. Liam tightens his grip for a peak of a second and finally lets the woman go. The woman falls on all fours, coughing exhaustingly. Her long, nappy hair hides her face from the two. “We don’t know what she’s intending, Elaine—for all we know she might be here to rob us—” Liam doesn’t take his eyes off the stranger. She’s been coughing awfully long… “Liam…” Elaine pauses at Liam for a second then approaches the woman and kneels down to her level. “Elaine no!” Liam is about to distance Elaine away from her when he sees Elaine put her arm on the stranger’s shoulder. The stranger had finally ceased her coughing, now shifting to gasps of air. “Are you okay?” Elaine asks, glancing up at Liam with a mix of concern and displeasure. “Yeah—” the woman replies, clearing her throat soon after. She brushes her hair away from her face, looks at Elaine, then to Liam. “I—I shouldn’t have…” She distances herself away from Elaine while keeping her eyes on Liam the whole time. “…shouldn’t’ve entered just like that…” She stands up, hesitantly, showing exhaustion and distance from the two. “…unannounced.” “Yeah, well… too late for that now.” Liam spitefully looks away. “Tsch…” “Liam.” Elaine continues to look at Liam with displeasure. “W—” “We can’t be too trusting with just about anyone, Elaine. Come on.” Liam walks toward the stranger, stepping in front of Elaine with machete still on hand. “So who the hell are you? Why are you here?” The stranger’s hesitation changes to crippling fear. “I—we—” She looked too suspicious with that backpack… and that leather get-up. Like she’s got all the mobility one could ask for. “Must be a bandit, huh?” Liam interrupts. “No—''no'', no—” “Liam. Listen to her for a second, will you?” Elaine steps up front, now side by side with Liam. The stranger looks to her instead. “Why are you here?” The woman shows relief, but soon replaces it with reticence. “I—we saw some people—you guys—around these parts… you guys looked like a nice bunch… so we were hoping to bring you guys along with us—” “Wait a minute…” Liam displays some reservation this time around. “You’re in a group?...” “Group?” She still wasn’t over his actions from a few minutes ago. “Yeah, yeah… a group. Me, a—a soldier, and a family…” “A soldier…?” Elaine mutters, only audible to Liam. She was about to ask more when she notices something on the person’s stomach. “Are you—are you bleeding?” A spit of regret creeps up to Liam’s chest when he hears that word. The woman looks down. “Oh, shoot…” She notices concerned looks from the two, Elaine especially. “No no, I’ll be fine. But you guys...” She absent-mindedly walks towards the front door before realizing something. “I don’t—mean any harm. Please, come with me.” //////////////// Liam continued to express his displeasure, but with Elaine finding it difficult to disagree, he had to give in. He decided on accompanying Elaine and this stranger to the people in question. There’s this harsh doubt, this mistrust he’s got in his chest… but Elaine’s intentions made him ignore it. He was there to protect her. The stranger walks to the street, the direction opposite from the park they had came from earlier. Liam hadn’t noticed any undead presence around here, but he certainly missed that questionable person standing guard on the sidewalk. From a distance, he could see the military fatigues and oversized gun the person carried. “By the way…” The stranger glances at the two from behind. “My name’s Alice.” Liam struggled to look away from the clutch she had on her neck. He could’ve choked her to death if Elaine hadn’t stopped him. “Alice,” Elaine replies sincerely. “My name’s Elaine.” Alice, the stranger, lightens her expression upon hearing it. Still, she avoided eye contact with Liam. Elaine looks at Liam, waiting for him to do the same. Disconcerted, Liam looks away too. “L-Liam.” Alice withholds a response for Liam, instead looking forward, at the person they were walking to. “Nice to meet you guys.” She stops rubbing her neck. “Whoa, whoa…” Liam looks up after hearing another female voice. It was from the person they were walking towards. “Y-you’re bleeding…” He’s got a better look at her gear; she had the typical military gear he’d see from the army patrolling in this city, only her sleeves were folded up, and she had goggles instead of a helmet. She had much more mobility by the looks of it. “Get that wrapped up…” “I will, but…” Alice walks to the soldier’s side, looking up at the couple. “This is them.” The soldier woman looks on with Alice and approaches the two, holstering the rifle in her hand aside. “Finally. Good to see you guys.” She shakes Elaine’s hand first with her gloved hand. “It was Alice who spotted you.” Liam could see Alice giving him an unintentional sneer. He refuses to shake the soldier’s hand with his folded arms. “Private Hardtjen Trugilio, at your service.” The soldier completely lets go of her gun and lets it dangle from her shoulder. “Jen, for short. I’m afraid I’m the only military personnel here who’s willing to help you guys.” Liam still refused to show trust. Instead, he displays displeasure. “I’m Elaine.” Elaine’s aware. “This… this is Liam.” “Elaine. Liam. Nice to meet you two.” The soldier, Jen, senses Liam’s mistrust. “I’ll… let you guys decide while I help Alice here.” She glances at Alice’s reddened shirt, then looks at Liam. “You guys need to know that we’ve got a clear plan and some numbers. We’ll be here until you guys decide.” Jen tries to sincerely look at Elaine the most, hoping for her to do the convincing. Liam had just been wordless. Elaine pulls Liam aside, walking toward the halfway point near their building of refuge. “So… what do you think we should do?” By the looks in her eyes, Elaine’s already set with her decision. Liam pauses, trying to create a viable argument. It’s always been him who’s had to deal with strangers. “How do we know we can trust them? For all we know that—that Alice girl could be bating us or—something…” “Bating? She hasn’t attacked us yet. I haven’t seen anything that’d make me think otherwise.” “''You know what we’ve been through.'' It’s always been us two, and we’ve been doing fine.” Elaine’s look never changes. “Yeah, and with others, we’ll do better.” Liam hasn’t seen her make these types of decisions as of late. Partly why he agreed to go with her here in the first place. “Yeah, well what do you expect me to do once they turn on us?” “They won’t.” Elaine looks back at the two. “You won’t. You won’t have to do anything.” Liam sheathes his machete, folds his arms. Not quite the answer he was looking for. “Okay. Okay.” Elaine, on the other hand, is looking for the right answer. “We take a look at their group. I—if it checks out, we stay.” He glances at the two from a distance, now waiting on him. “If it doesn’t, we leave.” //////////////// The place they were hiding in wasn’t actually that far; it was the alleyway Jen was standing right next to. Elaine and Liam were met with three other people, which was a family, by the looks of it; one older couple, a woman, and a child. Her son, by the way he boy clung to her. “Well… hello there!” the elderly man is the first to catch their attention; he approaches Liam with a smirk and an offering of a handshake. “My name’s Hank.” Liam is quickly taken in by his welcoming aura, returning his handshake and even cracking a brief smirk. “You guys must be the people.” He quickly moves on to Elaine. “That there’s my wife, Sally.” He points to the elderly woman who was almost in level with his pleasantness. “My daughter, Lisa…” By the looks of it, Hank’s whole family has nothing much to worry about. “And my grandson, Matt.” Hank keeps up his smile the whole time. Liam looks at Jen and Alice with an almost-perplexed look. Alice returns it with a shrug. “I’m… Elaine.” Hank’s warm welcome doesn’t take long to spread over to Elaine. “This is Liam.” “Elaine. Liam. Good to meet you folk.” “It’s good to see decent folk like you,” Sally adds. “We haven’t seen others for quite some time now.” Liam could see how… normal, and innocent they seem. It wasn’t in their appearance—which was just as messy and sleep-ridden as they are—but he could tell these people haven’t seen as much as they have. Elaine quickly takes interest to the family, especially Lisa and her son. Jen decides to pull Liam aside. “So… is that enough evidence for you?” It was as if she knew what Liam was thinking the whole time. He answers with silence on the topic. “Where are you guys headed?” he asks instead. “We’re headed to Henderson. Word is there’s supposed to be a military base still intact over there—” Liam’s look changes when she mentions the word “military”. “—We’re headed there for a reason. The platoon there is supposed to be like me.” “Like you…?” Liam asks. Apparently, the military get-up still hasn’t convinced him. “''I don’t shoot civilians on sight''. I don’t treat everyone as infected. So do they.” Liam takes a moment absorbing this… her gear did look adequate enough. “It’s… gonna be a tough road. You look like you’ve got experience. Surviving this.” Liam looks at Elaine upon the mention of that word. Jen follows suit. By the looks of it, Elaine was getting along fairly well with the family. “Both of you are still alive. We could use your help. You and Elaine.” Liam returns to facing Jen. He takes a moment to think about it, still refusing to admit that he was wrong. “When are we leaving?” he asks. //////////////// “So… what’s wrong with your shirt?” Liam and Elaine were walking side-by-side with Alice, while Jen walked with the others. They were out searching for a possible candidate for Liam and Elaine’s vehicle. “I—I’m actually injured. I got shot quite a while ago.” Both Liam and Elaine look at Alice with wonder; mostly at the way she answered it casually. “By who? Did Jen have a mishap, or something?” Liam asks. “''No'', no no no—it was some other… soldier.” Alice looks down. “Jen actually helped me—she found me soon after and I got patched up.” Liam and Elaine don’t change their look. “It’s a long story. I’m better now, but sometimes the scars still bleed.” This brings Liam back to their physical altercation earlier; when he nearly choked her out. Liam silences for a moment and scratches the back of his head. “I—I’m sorry about earlier, Alice. I was being careful.” Alice takes a bit of time to respond, looking as if she recalled that moment. “Oh, that. It’s—fine. I shouldn’t have entered like that—it’s just that, I was pretty nervous.” Liam and Elaine glance at each other. “So were we,” Elaine replies. She was, after all, the first living person who’s come gotten close to them for some time now. Elaine and Liam did well to evade other living people. “Guys, I think this is it.” The three catch Jen’s attention; she, along with the family, had eyes on an aged, four-door sedan. Hank had a closer eye on it by the way he was peering into the windowsill. “Yep, this car still looks good. I can probably hotwire it and get it workin’ for y’all.” Jen takes his cue and approaches the three, looking at Alice in particular. “I’m gonna get the S.U.V.” She spreads her look over to the couple. “The sooner we leave here the better.” Category:Apocalypse Life - New Tomorrow Category:Apocalypse Life - New Tomorrow Issues Category:Issues